Absolute Evolution
by Ergo
Summary: What would Haruka do? Sailor Moon characters in the Utena setting. Post Galaxia. Warning: yuri blah blah. Advice: if you go to college, don't take 19 credits. That said, I am working on a Silver Millennium fic right now so this will have to wait, la.
1. For your eyes

Disclaimers: I don't own sailor moon or any of its characters, blah blah. Oh, I also don't own Utena or anything belonging to it. There, happy? (sniff)  
This story is the revision of a previous fic called Born Again, which I have left unfinished. I'll leave both versions up, so you can compare. Eventually I'll take the old version down.  
Reviews good karma

Absolute Evolution  
(A hidden flower on the social periphery)

Chapter One  
– for your eyes

"The moon…" The walls of the observatory slammed shut.

She couldn't help but exclaim at the cutting darkness. An all encompassing darkness. She could almost feel it close around her, wrap its arms around her shoulders. She leaned back into it, against its cold stiff body. Her captor withdrew his arms and walked over to the wall flipping on a switch. Stars reflected in two pairs of eyes as a projector rotated in the large room.

"Yes, the moon. There is a legend, about the people of the moon, The Silver Millennium." His voice was deep and heavy. He gestured to a couch near the center of the room. "But that's just a fairytale." He walked with her to the couch and suddenly grabbed the girl's chin and looked into her eyes. They were empty as she stared back, attentive. "And fairytales are only for princesses." He laughed a little and released her. "Play."

The girl stooped to reach her violin case on the couch, her aqua locks cascading around her face. She already had a song in mind.

The sweet melody produced a sigh from her captor, and he smiled, for he new it was a lament.

A hilltop overlooking the academy.

Haruka removed her school jacket. 'Such a sickening hospital green,' she thought to herself, and let the wind tear at her loose cotton shirt beneath. She looked up at the sky and marveled at the stars, watched the moon rise over the trees.

"Haruka!" A voice broke the silence.

"Haruka!" Haruka turned to see a small girl running towards her, black hair flapping in the wind.

"Hey, Hotaru! Why are you out here like this?" Haruka smiled as the little girl stumbled before closing the distance.

"I thought…you'd be…here," Hotaru panted, ignoring her question.

"Yes, but-"

"Wow!" Hotaru exclaimed. "It's no wonder you come here every night!" she gestured vaguely at the sky. She sat down and hugged herself in the wind. Haruka draped her jacket around Hotaru's shoulders.

"Yeah, it's peaceful, and looking at the stars…the moon," Haruka stopped herself. She didn't really feel like talking. She decided to just enjoy the silence.

"There _is_ something about the moon, isn't there?" Hotaru said looking up to the sky.

Haruka glanced at Hotaru and smiled to herself. She should have known Hotaru would pick up on her thoughts. Haruka liked that about her, how Hotaru always seemed to know what she was trying to say, sometimes before she even spoke. It made her feel understood and safe. Hotaru looked up thoughtfully, but glanced away when she noticed Haruka staring at her.

"Haruka?"

Haruka waited, embarrassed.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

to continue


	2. why do you search?

Just so everyone knows, I HATE the format on this site! Okay, now please enjoy.

(In the end, I was still forgotten)

Chapter 2  
-why do you search?

'Almost every night now,' she thought. Setsuna stared up at the ceiling. 'Almost every night, that dream with that woman.' The morning was well under way with students walking to and fro beneath their window. The sky was mostly clear, and the few clouds were being whisked away in a high breeze. Setsuna saw none of it. She heard rustling in the bed next to hers.

"Setsuna, you've been awake for a while. Are you okay?" Ami's concerned voice came, muffled by her blankets. Setsuna didn't stir, even as she heard her roommate begin to dress. "Setsuna?" Ami prompted.

"Hm? Yes?" Setsuna blinked and turned a bit towards Ami. She laughed once. "I'm sorry. I didn't… really sleep well."

"That dream again?" Ami asked pausing to glance out the window. "It's a nice day out." She walked over to the window and looked down at the passing students. "I'm so glad it's the weekend. I think I'll go to the gym today." Setsuna only mumbled in reply.

Ami left Setsuna in her reverie and headed for the gym. As she approached the pool room, she could hear echoes of girls cheering coming from farther down the hall. 'The fencing room,' Ami thought. She laughed to herself. 'Of course the fencing room. If there're girls cheering, it must be the captain or one of the other cute ones fighting.' She walked on to the fencing room before she realized it. She peeked in the double doors.

For all the echoes she heard, there actually weren't that many spectators. The room was large, with a loft overlooking the practice court. Her attention was caught by the sound of squeaking tennis shoes. Ami looked on as a pair of fighters lunged at each other. 'Must have just started,' she mused. Already she could see an obvious difference in the two fencer's strengths. The shorter fencer was obviously more experienced. She lunged at the taller one with calculated thrusts and parried easily. The taller fencer had great reflexes, but wasn't as graceful. His movements were a bit hesitant. Ami could tell the girl was going easy.

She watched for several moments until the girl reposted catching the man in the stomach with her foil. "You didn't evade," she chastised through her mask. She pulled it off and shook out her brown hair.

"I'm sorry," the other fencer panted. The girl rapped him on the head with her foil.

"Don't apologize, you're dead now," she teased. "Go shower," she laughed, undoing her pony tail to catch her stray locks.

The man saluted her and removed his own mask. His blond hair was plastered to his forehead, sweat beading visibly above his eyebrows. He laughed too as he strode away towards the locker rooms.

Ami recognized the girl, Makoto, vice captain of the fencing team, but she had never seen the boy before.

Setsuna left the room some time after Ami. Some nights the dream was clearer to her than others, and last night it had been mostly colors and blurred shapes. Only one thing was truly clear. "That woman," she muttered. She put a hand to her forehead, as if to forcibly dispel the thought. She instead tried to focus on the task at hand. She was supposed to deliver a message for the student council president.

She stopped in mid-step, muttering about her abuse from the student council, just outside the music room. Inside she heard soft violin playing. She slowly opened the door. She watched the girl playing inside and she swayed slightly to the melody, her eyes shut. She was completely absorbed in the music and didn't notice she had an audience. Setsuna stared as the girl's aqua hair was illuminated by shafts of soft light from the high windows. It sparkled, drawing Setsuna's attention away from the music.

The last note reverberated about the hall and slowly faded. The girl opened her eyes and looked over at Setsuna.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Michiru," Setsuna gave an apologetic bow.

"Good morning, Setsuna," Michiru smiled slightly and dismissed the apology with a wave. "Is there something I can do?"

"Actually, yes. The student council wants you to play for the party next week."

Michiru began to pack up her violin. "Of course. I wouldn't want to disappoint them." Michiru hesitated. "But why are you here? You're not on the student council."

"Mamoru knows I come here often and asked me to do it," Setsuna explained.

Michiru stared off. "If you see him, then, tell him I will be happy to play."

Michiru headed into another room. Setsuna watched the slight, aqua haired woman disappear behind a door. Setsuna looked around the now empty music room for a moment, then made her way out. Just as she grabbed the knob, the door was opened from the outside. Setsuna was jerked a little off balance, and she felt her head connect with someone's shoulder.

"Ah!" She cried out in surprise.

"Oh, careful!" A pair of hands caught Setsuna's shoulders. She looked up into deep blue eyes. "Are you alright?" Setsuna was startled, to say the least. Nevertheless, she tried to compose herself.

"I'm sorry!" Despite her embarrassment she couldn't take her eyes off him. Something sparked her memory. The short blond hair, the eyes, even the manner was familiar.

"No, it was my fault," Haruka laughed a bit under the scrutiny. She glanced back at the girl, looking once again at those striking red eyes. The girl shifted her gaze past Haruka's shoulder. Haruka took the hint and backed out of the way, apologizing again.

Setsuna turned back a little as she walked away to smile. Haruka watched her leave, long green hair swishing about her small waist.

"Setsuna?" Setsuna stopped and saw Ami had been watching her. "Do you know him?" she indicated vaguely. Setsuna turned back just as the blonde entered the music room.

"Her. And yes, I do." She smiled a little.

"Her?" Ami asked, surprised. "Is she the one from your dream?"

to continue


	3. a cliched image

"Sing for me then,  
since you like it so much."

Chapter 3  
-a clichéd image

After her bizarre encounter, Haruka stood there, just inside the doorway, looking around. It was a very dark room, except for a few shafts of light coming from very high windows. She wondered why the light couldn't penetrate the darkness, but finally decided nothing at this school was exactly normal. She then spotted a piano in the center of the room.

Without thought, Haruka sat down on the bench and ran her hands along the smooth black lacquer. Her finger hit one key; the sound permeated the dark room. Two keys, a triad, a melody, a harmony. She played.

It was a simple piece, one she had often played while thinking. It had been a long time since Haruka had really played. Suddenly she stopped, and began anew, this time playing a more difficult piece, but slowing it down, dragging out the chords, adding little flourishes here and there, relishing in the rich sound. She repeated sections that caught her fancy and manipulated the sound, changing major chords to minor, then resolving only after a grueling pause, or not resolving at all, filling a person with the sense of imperfection, of longing.

Michiru stopped looking for new music and looked to the door she had left ajar, struck at the raw, cold, emotion coming from the next room. She hadn't heard anyone enter the music room. Slightly confused, and overwhelmed by the music, she leaned up against the door jam leading into the main room. Her eyes closed involuntarily as wondrously dark diminished chord was resolved into the tonal center. "Such a sweetly depressing sound," she murmured to herself. "Who are you to make such a sound? Who…" She turned her head and looked out into the large room.

A beautiful man seated at the grand piano, blond locks whipping around his closed eyes as he bent over the keys fully taken in by the sound.

Michiru didn't know which captured her more just then, the music, or the figure. She stepped into the room slowly, approaching from behind, not wanting to disturb him. She stopped just out of a shaft of light, not five paces away from Haruka.

Haruka let the final notes die out, not letting up on the foot pedal. She sighed and sat up straight, letting her head hang back. That's when she noticed Michiru's presence. She turned slightly on the bench to look at her voyeur. There eyes locked in silent understanding. Then they heard clapping.

"Bravo! Well, my Michiru, it seems you've made a new friend." A man dressed in the white uniform of the student council walked into the room. Haruka said nothing. She just turned her attention now to the man.

My Michiru, she thought. Michiru…

"But come now," he gestured to the aqua haired woman. "There's a student council meeting in the tower." The man wasn't looking at Michiru, however. He was looking at Haruka, with a peculiar expression on his face. Only when Michiru was almost out of the room did he smile and turn to leave also, a long pony tail swinging in his wake. He stopped just inside the door. "My name is Seiya." He half turned back towards Haruka looking at her sideways.

"Haruka," she stated without thinking.

"Haruka…" he thought for a moment, then laughed a bit and left.

Haruka absently hit a key, lost in thought.

to continue

AN: resubmitted this, found some errors and I had ranted a bit in the previous version...


	4. from marble heights

Here I try to convey  
all the thoughts in my head,  
but regret stays my hand.

Chapter 4  
-from marble heights

Mamoru leaned against the balcony railing, his back to the wind and the people far below him. He wasn't scared of the height, although maybe it was more concern than fear he was lacking. He smiled a bit and tried to see the great height in his mind's eye. He imagined looking up from the courtyard to the observation tower's only balcony and seeing a figure in black leaning so lazily against such a superficial railing.

"What a mood to be in," he said softly, chastising himself. He put his hand to his forehead, sighing, but stopped when he felt the smooth cold metal against his skin. Withdrawing his hand, he saw his ring; a symbol of the crescent moon inlaid with gold on the opal surface, and set in a band of white gold. He slipped it off his ring finger, and turned to lean on his elbows, to examine it. How easy it would be for him to just drop it. Watch it disappear in its descent, a height too great to even hear it land. He smiled then and slipped it back onto his ring finger.

Such a superfluity, he thought. It was because of this sentiment that he refused to wear the uniform of the student council. "Not just that," he breathed, plucking at his dark sleeves, "All of this, this entire school!" He stood up straighter, all but leaning out over the railing. The sunlight couldn't penetrate the shadows in the courtyard, but instead glinted off the roofs of the surrounding buildings. It was too much. Everything seemed ethereal, clean and perfect. Such elegance, he thought, such cold elegance that even the sunlight cannot penetrate. "Almost like it was designed that way," he mused, looking at the expanse of the large courtyard. He imagined the words he spoke being carried off by the wind, over the buildings and out of the school grounds entirely. If he were to plead, to whom would the winds carry his cries?

"Such a precarious position, Mr. President," a soft voice disturbed his thoughts.

He smiled to himself. He knew who it was without turning around. Rei always had a way of seeing through things. "Whatever do you mean," he said, glancing over his shoulder, still smiling. He liked her company.

Rei didn't approach the balcony; she instead stood a little ways behind Mamoru, feeling a bit like she had interrupted something. Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything, she thought. Her long black hair swayed softly with the passing breezes. Mamoru turned to lean his back against the railing once again. "You're early," he said offhandedly, noticing Rei's sudden discomfort.

"I can't really say I didn't expect to find you here," she replied, outwardly ignoring his statement. "You're the one who called the meeting, after all."

Glancing once more out over the academy, Mamoru walked past Rei and sat at a table set up for the meeting. After a moment she joined him. "Is it important?" she asked taking a seat opposite him.

He looked at her for a moment before responding. "Yes." Rei's brows furrowed. Mamoru reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. He tossed it over to her. She looked at it for a moment before picking it up. It was addressed to all of them, but she still didn't want to open it.

"It's from him." She set it back down again. "World's End." Rei was silent for a moment, but then spoke again. "What I want to know, though, is who _is_…" she trailed off, noticing Mamoru wasn't paying attention. She looked to where he was looking back into the tower. "A cat!" she exclaimed upon seeing a small white cat poking around inside.

Then they heard a voice. "Artemis!" Minako stepped out of the shadows of the interior room and onto the wide balcony, following the white cat. "It's dangerous up here; you can't just go wandering around wherever you please." She picked him up and walked over to the table.

"Where did you get that cat?" Rei asked at the same time Mamoru asked, "Artemis?"

Minako sat down with Artemis in her lap before explaining. "He's been following me around since yesterday so I decided to name him. Look at this mark on his forehead!"

Mamoru and Rei leaned in and he repeated his question. "But why Artemis?" On the cat's forehead was a strange yellow mark in the shape of a crescent moon. Mamoru's eyes widened and he glanced down at his ring.

Rei and Minako didn't notice. "I just like the name I guess," Minako said, shrugging.

"I think what Mamoru means is that if the cat's a boy, why didn't you name him Apollo?"

"Apollo? What are you talking about?"

Rei sighed. "Artemis is a Greek goddess. She has a twin brother, Apollo. Seems kind of strange to give a male cat a female name." To Rei it also seemed a bit lonely. Where is your Apollo then, she asked the cat silently. He stared up at her with large blue eyes.

"Oh. Well, the name seems to fit," she said lifting the cat into the air. "He definitely looks more like an Artemis than an Apollo." The little cat meowed at her in discomfort.

Rei was looking at Mamoru now, who was staring at his ring. "Mamoru?"

He broke his reverie. "Hmm? Hey, does anyone know where Seiya is?"

"He's probably off -" Minako's speculation was interrupted by the sound of the inner chamber doors opening. Seiya walked out to the balcony briskly, a smug on his face. Michiru followed behind.

"What's this all about then?" He asked taking the last seat. Michiru stood a small distance away, not paying attention to the proceedings.

Mamoru glanced over at Rei who took out her notebook. She was the secretary, but it was more like she was responsible for fabricating the minutes of their meetings. She often made up functions on a whim, and the rest of the council wouldn't know about them until students congratulated them on this magnificent party, or that successful fundraiser. If what they really talked about at these meetings were to get out somehow…

Mamoru reached into his pocket and retrieved the envelope. "Here," he said simply, tossing the letter onto the table. Rei looked at it from under her eyebrows briefly, but then returned to her notes.

Minako snatched it up while Seiya leaned forward frowning a bit. "To break the world's shell," she read. "What's the meaning of this?" she asked more to herself as she broke the seal. She unfolded the parchment and was silent.

Seiya lost his patience. "Well? What is it?"

Mamoru answered. "A new duelist."

Rei dropped her pen. Seiya and Minako were staring at Mamoru, waiting for him to continue. "It says right there," he indicated the letter. "Keep reading."

Minako scanned the letter looking for the name. "I don't even know this person," she said, slightly confused. She handed the letter to Seiya. "How can he do this to us? How can World's End just add another duelist who we haven't even heard of?" Her tirade was cut short by Seiya's chuckle. All three looked at him. He smiled at them clearly amused.

"Seiya," Rei said slowly, "Do you know this person?"

He leaned back in his chair, "Yes." He said simply, carefully placing the letter back on the table.

to continue

AN: okiedokie, this is the chapter whereI take down my original, la.So! If you haven't read the original yet, then all the better, because it was really the worst thing I had ever written. Even myHarry Potter fic was better...yeah. As always, reviews are much appreciated. I know, I know, it'll take like a whole 3 seconds out of your day, but you know, I guess it's really the thoughtthat counts, right? Karma and all that jazz. This is my longest chapter for the revision, so it holds a special place in my heart.Iknow that's not saying much, but hey, I have a short attention span!Betweenrewatching key points inboth anime, finding new L'arc en Ciel to type to, gettingsomeone to proof itandstill going to classes,I'm lucky to post anything at all. Don't forget eating. I've been forgetting it myself, lately...  
Btw, I find Kasou is an excellent song to write to. Hyde-sama! XD


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